Giralang shops update

The lessee of the Giralang Shops, Nikias Nominees, has advised GRAG that it favours the Woolworths proposal over other possibilities and those parties have been involved in commercial negotiations.

Both Nikias and Woolworths have independently indicated to GRAG that they are close to reaching final agreement.

GRAG’s position continues to be that it will support any proposal which provides for a quality local centre.

Nikias has further advised that it is close to finalising plans for the shopping complex which includes a liquor outlet and other small retail premises. It expects to show revised plans to GRAG prior to Christmas.

A traffic study is also said to have been completed. Hence a Development Application may not be far off.

Yay! woolies.
I grew up in Giralang and I’m sure a lot of people around here are going to be very happy.
After the old shops were intentionally run down and closed by the owners in order to allow them try and sell the land to developers, this is quite possibly the best possible outcome for the residents of giralang.

My concern is that the only reason Woolies would be interested in such a small and out-of-the-way site is that they want to bully Supa Barn out of Kaleen and take over their site.

Can anyone name a Woolies in a comparable suburban situation? All the one’s I can think of are at major shopping centres like Belco, Kippax, Charny, Gungahs, Dickson etc.

If by bully you mean compete – sure.
If woolies can offer cheaper prices then superbarn and take most of their business, good for them.

The Superbarn in Kaleen proves that shopping centers are viable in suburban areas and that the death of local shops at the hands of large centers is due in large part to people shopping exclusively at cheaper supermarkets rather then ‘corner stores’.
Suburban Supermakets reflect the best outcome in all of this – local shops with services like newsagents and takeaway can survive and thrive, and people are able to shop conveniently for their groceries.

niftydog, if you want an example of what sort of shops you’ll end up with you could do worse than taking the trip to Kambah Village at the end of the Tuggeranong Parkway (better pack a map and a waterbag if you’re coming from Belco).

Whilst Woolworths would not be my choice, they do have the benefit of creating their own business, rather than relying on just local residents. This is likely to mean the shops will be more viable in the long term.

Supabarn offer a great product. They have high staff numbers so waiting at checkouts is almost never a problem. If you are dragging kids (or worse, babies) along to the shops this is a huge benefit. Even without kids, who wants to wait in a Supermarket checkout queue?

I actually ventured into the f&v section of a woolies the other week and laughed out loud at what I saw – and that’s no exaggeration. It reminded me of those plastic f&v displays that my grandmother had in her dinning room. Thank god you can still buy real food elsewhere.

The Woolies in Kambah is pretty bad but not the worst. The only thing I really cant stand about that place is the astonishingly bad fruit and veg.
When I need to do a really big shop I usually go to Woden.

It is the GRAG update, with my comment as an add-on. I live in the area and the last thing I want is a Woolworths. GRAG claim to be reflecting the views of the suburb – but there are alot of people in the suburb who do not want a mass supermarket and dumped trolleys everywhere…It would be nice if they did some community consultation.

As for discussion about Charnwood and Kambah Woolworths being a dive – is it any different to supermarkets that go under any other name? Unfortunately, some things will be inferior (such as Fruit and Veg), but everything else? Unless you want/need the convenience, getting such produce from the markets is going to be a better idea anyway.

And Trolleys are going to be scattered in the vicinity of any supermarket that offers them to their customers..

All I’m saying is that a Woolies in that location doesn’t make sense and that makes me suspicious. But if it means something actually gets built on the site that will serve the community, then I’m all for it.

All I’m saying is that a Woolies in that location doesn’t make sense and that makes me suspicious. But if it means something actually gets built on the site that will serve the community, then I’m all for it.

That sums it up. I’m not a fan of Woolies, but I’m less of the fan of the eyesore that the closed shops look like. Its more a question about whether its a monoculture that turns out to be little more than another place to avoid a Woolies queue or something more of benefit to Giralang and nearby suburbs.

It is the GRAG update, with my comment as an add-on. I live in the area and the last thing I want is a Woolworths. GRAG claim to be reflecting the views of the suburb – but there are alot of people in the suburb who do not want a mass supermarket and dumped trolleys everywhere…It would be nice if they did some community consultation.

Funny that the people dumping the trolleys everywhere will probably be the Giralang residents who desperately don’t want the Woolies. There wouldn’t be trolleys dumped anywhere if people started using their half a brain.

As for the fruit&veg debate, it’s the same fruit as all the other stores get, comes off the same truck, though May be that they don’t get rid of the old stock quick enough. Kambah and Charny are the two smallest stores in Canberra, if you wanted to do a decent shop you’d surely go to a bigger store anyway.

I agree. I can’t see a Woolies being the best thing for a local shop where it is situation in Giralang. Why not put in an IGA, bakery, newsagent, restaurant etc? While I’m guessing/hoping a bit of competition would help Supabarn in Kaleen lower their prices a bit (they seem to go up every week nowadays), I don’t think Woolies is the answer for a small local suburban shops.

As for discussion about Charnwood and Kambah Woolworths being a dive – is it any different to supermarkets that go under any other name? Unfortunately, some things will be inferior (such as Fruit and Veg), but everything else? Unless you want/need the convenience, getting such produce from the markets is going to be a better idea anyway.

Actually, I find that the fruit and veg at the woolworths in Woden a thousand times fresher than the stock at wollies in Kambah. I dont really have anything against the brand itself, just the one at Kambah. I dont think I should have to go to the markets to buy fruit and veg if my local supermarket continuously claims that they are the “fresh food people”.

If a small Woolies or Coles helps Giralang then I’m all for it. As a long time Kaleen resident I can’t help but feel that Giralang shops got swamped by the Kaleen Supa barn shops (we really are spoilt having three sets of shops!!) and really fell apart. Put a nice restaurant and takeaway there plus a small supermarket and the shops would be decent again.